{"id":2448,"date":"2017-01-25T14:38:35","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T14:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/2017\/01\/25\/general-data-protection-regulation-mean-digital-marketers\/"},"modified":"2025-03-05T15:52:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T15:52:37","slug":"general-data-protection-regulation-mean-digital-marketers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.elixirrdigital.com\/us\/2017\/01\/25\/general-data-protection-regulation-mean-digital-marketers\/","title":{"rendered":"General Data Protection Regulation – What Does It Mean For Digital Marketers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disclaimer – I\u2019m not a lawyer, so this is not legal advice.<\/strong> I\u2019ve chewed through the regulations and I have gained a fairly clear idea of what the changes are, and am highlighting them below. I\u2019m also focussing on what this means for marketers \u2013 but these regulations reach far and wide, to any personal data.<\/p>\n

What Is The GDPR?<\/h2>\n

New legislation from the EU to help protect its citizens and their personal data. It comes into effect in 2018. These new rules protect EU citizens globally. Even companies based outside of the EU will have to abide by these rules when dealing with personal data from EU citizens.<\/p>\n

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Personal Data<\/h2>\n

Personal data essentially means any data that you can use to personally identify an individual \u2013 like a name, email address or phone number. Data that is anonymous, like website performance tracking data, is not covered.<\/p>\n

Data Controllers & Data Processors<\/h2>\n

A Data Controller is someone that owns personal data (of any kind). For example, your customer data would be classified as personal data.<\/p>\n

A Data Processor is someone that processes personal data that belongs to someone else. For example, your email marketing<\/a> platform would be a Data Processor as they use and \u2018process\u2019 personal data, but do not own the data.<\/p>\n

The Big Changes<\/h2>\n

Responsibility for data<\/h3>\n

Currently Data Controllers are responsible for the safe keeping on their data. However, these new rules extend more responsibility to Data Processors. This includes agencies like us, as well as any mail platforms, external CRM systems \u2013 anywhere your customer data could be \u2018processed\u2019.<\/p>\n

Consent \u2013 Users Have To Opt-in<\/h3>\n

I know what you\u2019re thinking \u2013 we already have to do that. True, but the rules on consent are changing. The majority of the changes are focussed on record keeping (by both the Data Controller and Processors involved).<\/p>\n

“To be valid, consent must be knowingly and freely given, clear and specific. Organisations should keep clear records of what an individual has consented to, and when and how this consent was obtained, so that they can demonstrate compliance in the event of a complaint.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n